Photography

The first day of winter. It’s dark, cold, and raining outside. As a short escape from the weather, I’ve been going through some soaring photos from last summer.
I'm reminded again of the power photographs have. It’s a history that seems to me more immediate and intimate than the written word. They seem to leap the fence of linguistic description, bring me closer to the experience than any words could possibly do. The memories are both bitter and sweet this year.

Rampart Ridge continued to produce some of the best flights and photographs
in 2005. I experimented with mounting my Canon s60 digital point and shoot to the wing tip. It worked well, with no noticeable effect on the glider's flight characteristics. The camera is triggered by an IR remote attached to my basetube. The camera allows for a 2- or 10-second delay, which is nice if you don't want a bunch of shots of yourself pointing the remote at the camera. I ended up using the 10-second delay the most. It allows enough time to put the remote away and then maneuver the glider for the perspective I wanted. I also experimented with mounting a small video camera at different locations on the wing which I'll post more about later.

Unfortunately, Rampart also brought tragedy to us this year. We lost a dear friend as a result of a bad launch. A tragic reminder of how unforgiving our sport can be. Hang gliding is so wondrous and amazing, it’s unfortunate that it is tempered all too often by such loss.

He will be missed.